Knowledge Base

Windows Server: How to Back Up Group Policy Objects Using the Group Policy Management Console

Article Summary: This article provides instructions for backing up one or more Group Policy Objects using the Group Policy Management Console.

The Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) provides a means to back up Group Policy Objects (GPOs) without backing up anything else on a domain controller. GPOs can be backed up individually, in groups, or all at once, and they can be backed up to a folder on the local server or a shared folder on the network.

To back up one or more GPOs, perform the following steps:

Open the Group Policy Management Console, either by selecting it from the Administrative Tools menu or by typing gpmc.msc at an elevated command prompt.

Do one of the following:

To back up a single GPO, select the Group Policy Objects folder in the left pane, right-click the GPO you wish to back up, and select Back Up...

To back up multiple GPOs, use Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select the GPOs to be backed up, then right-click any of the selected GPOs and select Back Up...

To back up all GPOs, right-click the Group Policy Objects folder and select Back Up All...

Specify the location where the backup should be stored and optionally give the backup a description. Click Back Up.

Each folder corresponds to a single backed-up GPO, but the names of the backup folders have no relation to the GUIDs of the GPOs themselves.

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